Modern Query Processing: Databases and Reasoning
Graduate course, Utah State University, 2026
Fall 2026 · Graduate course · Work in progress
How does a short declarative reasoning query become an efficient executable program?
The public course materials now live together in one course website: syllabus, weekly schedule, project contract, conversational notes, and the Rust quick-reference page all share one navigation system and one source repository.
Enter the course website Browse the source Homework repository
Course at a glance
| Dates | August 31–December 11, 2026 |
| Level | Graduate; advanced undergraduates with permission |
| Format | Lecture, paper discussion, guided practica, and one cumulative project |
| Exams | None |
| Language | Rust is introduced in the course; prior Rust experience is not required |
| Through-line | CQ meaning → joins → bounds → execution → recursive Datalog |
| Advanced work | Complete the common core, then pick one released extension |
What the course follows
Modern Query Processing follows conjunctive queries from logical rules to executable systems. Students move among relations, valuations, hypergraphs, typed intermediate representations, physical plans, and Rust operators. Query shape, intermediate work, and AGM bounds connect the mathematical object to the algorithm that evaluates it.
The second half treats positive Datalog as recursive conjunctive-query evaluation. Fixed points, deltas, duplicate elimination, and termination make the same semantic and physical questions recur over time.
After the shared implementation core, each team completes one advanced extension. Teams rank their preferences, and with the expected class size below 20 the instructor will balance assignments so groups investigate different language, execution, parallel, incremental, or index-sharing decisions when practical.
Public course materials
- Syllabus — outcomes, prerequisites, assessment, and policies
- Schedule — weekly topics, primary readings, practica, and releases
- Course project — the supplied Rust engine and required stages
- Homework repository — stable
hw1,hw2,hw3, and assignedpick-one/*starter branches - Course notes — conversational chapters and quick-reference material
Meeting details and institution-specific policies remain provisional until the course syllabus is finalized. The course website is the authoritative public source; private announcements, submissions, and grades will use the university course system.